Improvement in key-fasteners



Nrrnn ATENT IMPROVEMENT IN KEY-FASTEN ERS.

Specification forming part ofl Letters Patent No. 46.239, dated February7, 1865.

i of this specication.

The nature ot' my invention consists in the production and arrangementot a device which can easily be attached to any ordinary doorlock,either mortise or box lock, and by means ot' which the key,'after thedoor has been locked, is securely held and fastened in the lock, so thatit can neither be turned to unlock the lock nor be pushed out so thatthe lJcc can be picked.

Figure l shows a lock with its bolt thrown out and the key fastenedtherein. Figs. 2 and 3 are views of the key fastener in two positions.Fig. 4 is a view of the key fitted to take the fastener.

To or over the usual scutcheon-plate, A, or upon the face of the lock,there is iiXed or placed another plate, B, behind which .moves the boltO, as required. The lower end of such bolt is reduced in size, as shownmore plainly in Fig. 2, and generally such bolt is so placed as to bedirectly over the key-hole and key. ln the shank ot' the key D, at suchplace as to be under the bolt O when the key is fully entered within thelock, there is drilled a hole, a, Figs. l and 4, of'a suitable size toreceive the reduced end of the bolt C, and into which such bolt willenter when it is moved in the position shown in Figs. l and 2.

As will be at once apparent, when the bolt C is moved downward andcaused to enter the hole in the shank of the key, as shown in Fig. l,the key will be securely held in the position it then has, and cannot beturned in the lock, either by nippers or otherwise, nor can it be pushedout of the lock so that any tool can be inserted to pick it. The lock islll l thus effectually protected from being opened either by the keyitself or by being picked.

To render the action of the 'bolt O more certain and hold it in anydesired position, the

plate B is cut or slotted, as shown at b, Figs.

1,2, and 3, in which slot moves the stem o, which enters the bolt C.When the bolt is passed into the shank of the key, as represented inFig. 1, the stem o is turned into the lower horizontal section of theslot b, and as shown in Figs. l and 2, and the bolt is thereby preventedfrom being raised, except by moving such stein into the perpendicularsection of such slot. On the other hand, when the use of the bolt is notrequired to fasten the key,-the stem is carried in the position shown inFig. 3. The bolt is thus kept elevated, and the key can be entered orremoved from the lock without inconvenience. Such form of bolt, with itsstem, in combination with the slotted guide-plate, both secures the boltin the key and prevents its turning, and also sustains the bolt abovethe key when desired.

An additional means of holding the bolt in the key may be made use of,it desired, by having a small hole made through the sides of the plate Bnear the top, as indicated by the arrow, and inserting a pin therein;but it is believed that the security obtained bythe stem o moving in thesections ofthe slot Ii will be all-sufficient.

The bolt may be placed on the outside oi the lock, as shown in Fig. l,or may be sunk partly or mostly behind the ordinary plate A, asdesirable, either for convenience or appearance. Such bolt may alsomove. vertically or horizontally or at an angle, and the key may be heldin the position shown in Fig. l or ata half-turn.

What I claim as luy-invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

The combination and arrangement of the bolt C, constructed substantiallyas described,

and its guide or case B, with ihe perforated key, the Whole combined andoperating substantially as and for the purposes set forth. Witnesses:HENRY HUNGERFORD.

S. D. LAW, W. R. RoNALDs.

